Finding My Own Castle
by TBsInsight
Summary: More often than not, adventures start just by dealing with our normal lives. Sarah doesn't know quite how to handle her life sometimes, and Jareth seems to know all the answers. Naturally, as they are trying to rekindle some kind of friendship during the aftermath of Sarah's run through the maze, they realize that they are not as different as they thought.
1. Meet The New Sarah

FINDING MY OWN CASTLE

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the Labyrinth :(

**WARNINGS: **language, possible sexual scenes

**PAIRINGS: **Sarah/Jareth

**A / U: **Hello Readers!

Yes, this is short. Don't worry Jareth is coming in soon I just wanted all of you to get a feel for Sarah's character since she is about 4 years older than she was in the movie and she had a lot of growing up to do. I hope you enjoy!

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I was eighteen for goodness sake. I deserved a space that I could hide away from THEM. I needed somewhere where it was okay to be the person that I am. My family just doesn't get it. They are all so impossible. They still want me to sleep right across the hall from them. I myself am a night person and I do not enjoy having to be extra quiet to appease them.

Ever since I was a baby, I've had a never ending fascination and love with the moon. It is my friend, my lover, my everything. In the dark, no one cares what I'm doing and I can concentrate. I love writing stories in my notebook. They are mostly stories about the Labyrinth. The best parts of my life were spent there. I like to read, I have so many books. I love to write poetry and simply daydream about my life. I want to grow up mostly because my parents think I'm going to fail in life as I get older because I'm still not sure about what I want to do in college or for a job or anything really. What they don't understand is that I don't want to do any of that. I want a normal life that my parents couldn't give me.

I want so many kids, I want a husband that makes millions of dollars so I can stay home with them. I would never leave my kids to watch each other like my parents did to me. It was horrible and I hated it. I never ever hated Toby. He is the only reason I get up in the morning. I could never be mad at him, all the blame falls solely on my parents.

Sir Didymus and Ludo visited my vanity often and reminded me that there was atleast someone who cared for me.I couldn't even make friends at school. I hated school. I hated all the people there. They are all fake and they think that if someone writes a facebook post about them or talks about them behind their back that it will be the end of the world. People have done this to me all my life; Have I died yet? I'm done living in the real world where teachers only grade you on whether you guessed right or what other people in your group have done for you. I hate that I still have one stupid year of high school left. I really dislike still living with my parents as well.

I guess that's why it's been a more pressing issue to get into college because then I could live far far away from them. In college, I can meet tons of people who are more like me and can appreciate what I do and how I run my life. Every time someone brings me down, I keep falling back on my one memory of the Labyrinth that has stuck with me all of these years: "You have no power over me."

I always think back to that day because, even though it shames me, I wish I would have taken his offer. After I saved Toby of course. I wish that I could take it all back and stay with him in his castle. I long to see that unruly hair again or even those pesky goblins. I HAVE already spent most of my days there as it is having tea with the worm and his wife or picking fruit from the trees. Everything is so much more different than here.

I cringe every time that someone says something is unfair. I remember how often I would say that in the Labyrinth and I started to realize that everything was more than fair in the Labyrinth. It was HERE that nothing was remotely fair. It's inconceivable on Earth to ever think that someone should be nice to you. Everyone has ulterior motives or they wish you harm in some way. In the Labyrinth, at least if someone wanted to harm you, they didn't lie about it.

I laugh at how naive I used to be. When I was a little girl, all I did was pretend, play, and could never do anyone wrong because I was the sweetest little girl.

I think my parents ruined that in the end. Being nice and friendly towards everyone is apparently an epic wound to your social status. If anyone so much as whispers a please or thank you everyone will look at you like your nuts. Well, maybe not that extreme but everything I do is "too much" and makes people feel out of place...so says my stepmother. She's awful, too. I still can't stand her after all these years. She makes me take care of the baby and never lets me do what I truly want.

She's going to have a difficult reality check when I'm not here anymore in this awful place.

Speaking of which, she should be home by now. I think I'll try and convince her to give me my own room again...for the tenth time this year. You would think they would've given in by now.

I walked into the room and watched as Karen unpacked what must have been hundreds of dollars in groceries for the Christmas party that my parents decided to throw.

"Ya know, you could help me unload some of these." She said as she bent down to grab another box, grunting as she hoisted it onto the counter.

"Well, ya know, you COULD give me my own room so I would be more inclined to help out."

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, it's funny that you should mention it because I was just going to inform you today that your father and i had decided to give you the room in the basement because we never use it and you're going off to college anyway so it wouldn't be in the way of everything else. I would also like to point out that I am the one who convinced your father to do so, so I expect that you help me this instant before another word of sass exits those grown up lips of yours."

Oh. Well now I feel bad. I shouldn't because she truly is a witch sometimes, but I did. I decided not to say anything after that and immediately started to unpack everything.

Whew. All those stupid groceries took us both an hour just to put them into the cupboards. I shudder to think how long it will take to actually make whatever she's preparing. I guess I should actually thank her for my room and start getting it ready.

"Karen?"

She looked up from her digging in the recipe drawer. "Yes, dear?"

"I know I didn't say it before, but thank you."

She smiled knowingly. "You're quite welcome. You better hurry up and get your new room setup before the party this week. Or I'll have your back end for it!"

I laughed and skipped down the hall. I was in such a good mood. The main reason I loved the basement was because it was two floor levels away from my parents and they never went down there. It had a couch, a TV, an old piano that I occasionally liked to play, and a fireplace.

It was my dream. We had even installed a microwave and mini fridge in case guests came over. I loved it so much and the best part about it was that I could do whatever I wanted to at night and not be disturbed by anyone. It's always so quiet at night. My favorite thing to do is sit by the fire with some tea and a book. I don't have to hear Toby scream or fuss about something. I don't have to hear Karen's ugly voice gossiping to her friends, her favorite past time. And most of all, I could talk to my friends through my vanity without any disruptions. I could see my future so clear in just this one little amount of space and peace that my parents had given me.

This is where I could finally discover who I was going to be.


	2. Well, Hello There

**DISCLAIMER: **I know you're surprised...but I do not own the Labyrinth

**WARNINGS: **fluff and language

**A/N: **This is a book of simple fluff but it has deeper things coming up. Be patient my friends :)

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I was sitting in my new and amazing room. It had been two days but I had finally gotten all my stuff into the basement. Oh the joys of moving to a quiet atmosphere.

I think I am truly starting to scare my parents, though. They claim I've been overly happy. They seem to think that I've gone truly insane. That's fine with me.

I decided that I should start working on my homework because tomorrow is the big party. I don't have to show up for long, only about an hour, but Karen wants me to at least visit a little bit. Thankfully, the basement will be closed off so I can have some privacy but it still won't be quiet enough for me to do my homework.

I sighed as I looked at everything I had to do. Teachers loved to give me homework right before a really big break like this one. I had two essays, a book lecture (basically an essay but given in speech form), and a powerpoint presentation to set up. Plus, I SHOULD be doing my math homework for this week so i don't fall behind but given everything that I've already been assigned, I seriously doubted that was going to happen.

Well, c'est la vie. I turned on my laptop and prepared to do an enormous amount of work when I heard something fall into the couch across from my chair.

I looked up to find...The Goblin King? What the hell is he doing here?

"Hello, Sarah." He sounded almost bored.

"Umm...hello...can I help you? I don't remember wishing away any babies recently."

He chuckled at that. "Well, honestly Sarah, my little spit fire, I am bored."

I was speechless. A king of a WHOLE labyrinth was bored?

"Well, you could make ME the King. I would rather do that then all this homework. Why are you here of all places, if you are "bored"? I'm sure there is far more interesting things to do in your world than mine."

"Actually, Sarah, there is not. The creatures in my world like to fight and moan about who gets to be in the Labyrinth to catch all the runners or who is the better of them all in pointing people in the wrong direction. You see, my dear, the Labyrinth is like a sport. You would think that all the attention would be on the person that is running it, but actually, it is on the ones who distract from the castle. They are all in competition with each other because it is how they all make a living. Therefore, stupid arguments, much like sports, break out and cause me to do hours and hours of boring work that consists of The Goblin King breaking up fights and making new laws, which, also end in fights for the most part. Does that sound fun to you?"

Wow. Now that I actually started to think of all the planning and things that go into being a Goblin King, I kind of get why he's willing to get away from it for a while. I would still much rather be doing that than homework, but I get it. Although...

"Well...why me, then?"

He looked confused. "Well, you beat my Labyrinth...why not you? In the past 300 years, you have been the most interesting person I have ever talked to."

I blushed, to my chagrin.

"Oh...well..I guess if you're irritated with everyone in the underground...I wouldn't mind if you kicked it in here for a while. You're helping me with my homework, though."

He cringed. Apparently, they had homework in the Underground, too. I laughed and assured him that it wasn't so awful. I'M the one who had to do most of the work. All I did was show him how to use Powerpoint on my laptop. He look truly pleased with himself as he got the hang of it. I suppose when he was in school, he didn't have access to the computer so being excited was normal. After about an hour of him grinning at the computer, I started to grow worried about what he was doing, though. Sometimes the creatures of the Labyrinth grew very proud of things that weren't so agreeable in the Aboveground. Whatever, I can always fix what he does wrong. Hopefully.

I truly think that this is the most fun I have ever had working on homework in my whole life. Showing Jareth such simple school things was hilarious. He picked up a bendy ruler, in awe, and asked where he could get one. I laughed hysterically.

"Probably the nearest Smart Buy."

"I have heard of this Smart Buy. People buy really cheap things there. Am I correct?"

I grinned. "Yes. It's a really bad place for workers because they are poorly treated and payed but it is nice if you don't have a lot of money."

He looked astonished. "People work to give other people cheap things, basically doing them a favor, and they barely get PAYED?"

I was surprised at how passionate he got about this. Generally, I didn't really think about it all that much.

"Well...it's a little more complicated than that, but basically, yes."

He shook his head. "Sometimes I don't understand the Aboveground people."

I nodded. "Sometimes I don't either, and I live here."

He looked up from fiddling with the bendy ruler and massive eraser. "Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"Well, what do you plan on doing here? You really don't belong. You admit that Earth things are foolish...so why stay? You know as the defeater of the Labyrinth you're welcome to live there anytime you choose."

I mused over this. I've already answered this question so many times to my self but it sounds so much more practical when he says it.

"Well, Toby needs me and I want to do something on this planet worth talking about. I want to become a doctor who saved a cancer patient or a scientist who comes up with an injection to cure AIDs or even a teacher who lets kids know that there is hope for people like me who really don't belong. I am living proof that thoughts can be enough to change your life forever. Why not spread that greatness?"

He looked lost in thinking. "I guess I should know by now that you will always have a mind destined for greatness...but should you ever change your mind, you know you are always welcome in the Underground."

I nodded. "Thank you but after steeling my baby brother and informing me that it's really not so great as I thought, I think I shall remain in the Aboveground, for now. Perhaps one day, when I'm a legend worthy of storytelling by my children's children, I shall return and happily die there."

"Well, you can never die in the Underground. Once you are there, you can never age. Which is why I am exactly 511 years old. If I lived here, I would have been dead a long time ago." He laughed as if that was such a ridiculous notion.

I scoffed. "Well, I really wouldn't want to be an old lady for that long."

"Well, then, hurry up and become a legend while you're still young." He said this as if it were the easiest thing to do in the whole world.

"Pshh...yeah okay...I'll work on that." I said.

"Good." He replied.

Clearly, the Underground does not have sarcasm.

We both worked in silence for a while. Each reflecting on the other's regard on life, when I realized that I didn't particularly know anything about the man other than that he was the king of goblins.

"So, Jareth, I know what you do as a king, but what do you do for fun?"

He blinked. "Well, I like to paint, a lot, actually. I enjoy reading, going to plays, watching movies, playing the piano, playing the harp, and anything to do with music, really. I like to swim during the warm weather and sing to the goblins on cold wintery nights in the castle. I'm a rather simple man, I guess. I'm afraid that I'm not all that exciting, my dear."

"Well, I think exciting is over rated. I understand not wanting to be out in the open all the time and living for the "thrills of life". I suppose after living 511 years, you don't really find a lot of things that you like to do anymore."

He thought about that. "Well, that isn't all true. Sometimes, every once in awhile, I'll find something new that I like to do from one of the importers to my island. The latest thing, I've decided that I love, is fencing. This man brought spices and herbs to me but would not let me buy any of them unless I paid double just because I was the King. Usually, Kings have more money than their loyal subjects but this is the Goblin Kingdom we're talking about, so naturally, I was peeved and I challenged him to a duel. Frankly, he was a lot better than I was. When I asked if he did sword practice, he stated that he practiced something called fencing. Clearly, I was intrigued. I asked him to teach me in exchange for buying out his whole cart of spices and he complied without further question. I have been practicing for 124 years since then, and I think I could out best anyone in the sport."

"Wow. What did you do with all of the spices after that?"

He shrugged. "I gave them to the Goblins. I justified it in my mind that I got the spices for free and I was really paying for the fencing lessons." He grinned.

I laughed as I imagined all of this happening and I couldn't help but be grateful that he was here. I was almost done with everything on my homework list when I only expected to get a quarter of it finished.

I never thought that this man could be so agreeable. I guess I could only judge him based on what he did to my little brother. But, I can't even blame him for that because I was the one who wished him away. I also won and got my brother back so really, I think the past is in the past and I should move on. Jareth is different than I thought.

"Well, then, I guess we should see what you've come up with on this powerpoint of yours." I said.

He was ecstatic about it so I figured I would at least humor him.

To my pleasant surprise, he actually didn't do anything wrong. It looked wonderful! Somehow he had made his own templates...except they were real pieces of art from different time periods. This was amazing! I never thought in a million years that he could do something so wonderful after only knowing how to work this for 2 hours.

I was beaming. I felt bad even claiming this as mine in school. It really was that brilliant.

"Well, you have certainly outdone yourself, Goblin King."

"I should hope so, I spent a lot of time on that dreadful contraption." He said, referring to the computer.

"Well, I really appreciate it. I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much of this done if I didn't have your help."

He smiled at this saying, "Well then, it was my pleasure."

There was an awkward pause as we both realized how civil we were being to each other and I decided to interrupt the silence.

"Well, since you like movies would you like to watch one with me? You deserve it after how much you helped me out."

He looked sadly down at his crystal. "Sorry, Sarah, I must unfortunately decline. Three hours in the Aboveground is enough to set my world to pieces and I must leave. One of these days, I shall visit again and make damn sure we watch that movie, though. I haven't watched a movie in ages. Too busy dealing with these fools..." Without even so much as a goodbye, he poofed out of the room in a large cloud of glitter...when will he ever stop surprising me?


	3. Jingle Bells, Everyone Here Smells

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the Labyrinth

**WARNINGS: **language

**A/U: **Wow. I can't believe how many people have read this and I only have 2 chapters up! All of you are truly amazing...I hope I don't disappoint. Cookies to those who review! P.S. I know Jareth isn't in this chapter but that is called character building darlings...

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Well, this is it. The day of the party. I have always loved Christmas but I really wish that we didn't have to throw a party for it. I don't like the noise, the people, or when everyone says "Oh, you look so grown up!" or "I remember when you were so small I could hold you in my arms." I know all of my family and family friends love me, but damn, sometimes I just don't want to be coddled. I want to be treated like an adult. I'm glad actual Christmas is only a week and two days away.

I keep running the conversations that me and Jareth had last night through my mind over and over again. I feel like the time between us went by too fast. When would he be back again? A week? A month? A year?

Maybe...maybe he's just going to forget. Maybe he was actually bored and I just happened to be available. Well, then...good riddance. I have enough going on as it is. I need to find out who I am and what I want to do in life. There's no time to get distracted by mystical things that don't exist in the real world. And yet, I still feel the tinge of fear pierce my heart and decide to stop thinking about it. If he shows, he shows. If not, well, that's his loss.

I walked up the stairs and I heard roaring laughter coming from the living room. Our neighbors were talking about how they were fixing their house up. Their names were Joey and Kim, a young couple who had moved right across the street from us and had to redo practically the entire house.

"Well, you know, when we were painting Toby's room before we knew he was a boy, we just decided on plain white walls until he came. We didn't want to ruin the surprise and he was going to have to sleep in our room anyway, so we decided we would paint it after he was born."

Oh yeah, and Kim was pregnant.

"Actually, that's a really good idea." She turned to Joey. "Hun, I think we should do that. Why ruin our little surprise?"

He laughed and said, "Because dear, waiting for our 'surprise' also means that we have to waste money on neutral colored clothing that I know perfectly well you will get rid of and replace with gender appropriate colored clothing."

She huffed. "You know me too well."

He chuckled, kissing her nose.

I hope my marriage is like that one day. I love how they talk to each other and do romantic things together. I envy them so much because they are the people who get to live in their own house, without any parents telling them what to do, and they can buy whatever they want because they have jobs, and they can have children. I want all of that so much.

My parents just fight. All the time. Ever since my mom took off when I was little, I've had a rough time of things. I can't look at any happy family without being jealous. I know that I should be happy for them. I should be happy that they have family outings and go camping and tell happy memories about the past. My parents never encouraged me to do sports, dance, play music, or do anything with my life, really. Why can't I just have that fake family photo that you see in new picture frames? Why couldn't I have had an older brother to watch out for me? Or a real mom who baked cookies and attended all parent meetings and sung lullabies? I want THAT family.

I was broken out of my trance by Emmett.

"Wow, Sarah, I haven't seen you in a long time." He whistled with this eyes raised and laughed. "How have you been stranger?"

I smiled. Emmett had been my best friend when I was in the first grade. I'm shocked that he remembers me, I haven't seen him in years. I think the only reason I recognized him was because he had that same disheveled hair and luminous blue eyes.

"Not much really...school, school, and more school. Oh, and babysitting Toby. My life is pretty pathetic."

He chuckled in a deep voice that I didn't seem to recognize from the years of his puberty that I missed. "I don't think that anyone's life gets more interesting than that. Despite what you may think, everyone's life is a little more boring then they let on. For instance, I've taken up the skill of magic. Which sounds really lame but that's what I do. That, and like you said, school."

"Magic? You've been learning magic tricks all of this time you've been away from me?"

"Yeah, I got into it from my cousin. I dunno...I was never really into that stuff until one day I saw this magician. He was amazing. he could tear a page from a book without touching it, putting it into a sealed envelope and no one could ever figure out how he did it. I used to think the whole magic act was stupid. I mean, how many magic tricks can you do before someone figures it out? But seeing that guy...I don't know...it changed my life. So, now I do silly magic tricks."

Wow. Only the truly weird things happen to me...my former best friend has been playing with cards and rabbits his whole life. My life didn't seem so ridiculous after listening to that.

"Well, I'm glad you have found something to...aspire to...but what are you going to do after high school? Do you have a job to save up for college? Or some kind of plan for the future?"

"Magic. Magic is what I'm going to do in college. Why do you think I told you about it? If it was just a hobby, I wouldn't have bothered."

He look highly amused as I shook my head back and forth, "I always knew you were crazy but now I know exactly how crazy you are."

"My mom and dad say the same thing. They don't think I'm going to make it. But, whatever, I'll figure it out."

"I wish my parents were different. But they're really not. They don't believe that I can do much of anything either, oh well. Life goes on."

He nodded in agreement. "Life goes on...by the way, what do your parents expect to do about Toby after you leave?"

I shrugged. "They'll just have to suck it up and get a babysitter. I hate that they haven't hired one already. I mean, I'm stuck in school all day then I have to go home where I should be doing my homework, but then, lo and behold, I have to watch Toby, and whoosh! there goes all my homework time unless he feels like he's in a particular mood to take a nap. I thought the terrible two's were supposed to end at some point but they have gone to be the terrible 4's."

"Ugh, that really sucks. I can't believe that your dad is a lawyer and yet, too cheap to pay for a babysitter...I thought Karen was a stay at home mom."

"She is...she just sucks at it and wants to go out with her girlfriends all the time...and yeah, they make plenty of money for a babysitter but they claim they are putting away money for my college."

"Agh, babysitting in exchange for college, you're starting to sound more and more like Cinderella."

I laughed. "Well, at least then I would have two other sisters to watch Toby."

"Yeah.." His phone started beeping alerting him of a new text. "Crap, my mom wants me in the living room so she can show me off to some of her old friends...this cannot end well."

"She texts you when you are like, 4 feet away from her?"

He grimaced. "Yes, unfortunately it's not as easy to hide now...well, it was nice catching up with you can I get your number so we can do this again sometime? I kinda miss my best friend who used to run naked in my sandbox."

Damn. I hoped he had forgotten that. "Yeah sure no problem." I scribbled my number on the nearest napkin and handed it over to Emmett, stuffing it in his pants pocket.

"Bye! Try not to light the tree on fire!"

That had to have been the most interesting conversation that I had during that whole Christmas party. I can't believe how much he had changed..it confused my mind just thinking about it.

Where had the time gone? It was already 11 and I had planned to ditch the party an hour ago.

I said hello to all the people there so that Karen wouldn't complain plus had a conversation with Emmett, my work here is done.

I headed to my new room where I could seek some solace and quiet.

I walked in to find that everything in my room was a mess. How do things get so messy after just cleaning them not so long ago?

I was starting to put everything away when I began to look at my brush on my vanity. It was white and made out of wood with flowers engraved on the handle. I remember how my mom used to brush my hair while she told me about random epiphanies or even memories that were triggered in absent thought. I remember once...

* * *

_She had just got done spraying my hair with some dry shampoo and detangler as she started telling me about this theory she had on why people fall in love. _

"_Darling, you know what I think about couples? I think they are all fake. That there is something about them that screams desperation. Somewhere down the line, what happens, is that people realize they don't want to be alone forever, so they start dating. After they date, they notice that they would be okay with spending the rest of their life with that person, not really thinking about what that truly means. Then they get wrapped up in all the lies of love. The hope, jealousy, hate, and glory. All of it. But then they patch one of their arguments up, thinking that now they can overcome anything just because they decided on an impasse on just one of their disagreements. So then they have a child; a child who is now both of you and now you are stuck. Stuck for the rest of your life because you were desperate and naive. Slowly, you begin to wonder when the arguing will stop. You wonder: is this going to be the rest of my life? But a little voice whispers in your head: no...no this isn't all you have to offer. You are more than this...you are more." She got a faraway look in her eyes where you could almost see her soul screaming from the prison cell of her body._

_"But mommy, kids can be good. They always get loved in the end, right?"_

_She smiled down at me in pity. "Yes, darling. The children always stay loved no matter what happens..."_

* * *

That was the night she left me forever.


	4. Old Friends, Old Family

**DISCLAIMER: **I solemnly swear that I do not own the labyrinth...unfortunately.

**WARNINGS: **language, duh.

**A/N: **Out of my two stories I never thought in a million years that this would be the most popular one...I would like to give a shout out to PhysicNightmare who is reviewing all of my chapters and I greatly appreciate it. Thank you to all and anyone who are reading my story, I think that you will be happy to know that we'll be seeing Jareth this chapter :) Cookies to all who review! By the way, I have decided that I am updating as often as I can until I am about halfway done then I am going to update only once every week because the beginning is SUPER slow.

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It's been a week since the Christmas party but today is Christmas Eve, thankfully I only have to a dinner with my family tonight. It only included my aunt, two uncles, three cousins, Karen, dad, Toby, and I. That was a lot easier than dealing with a houseful of people at a party.

I used to love the week of Christmas when I was a kid but now, I kind of loathed it. I only sat around all day and watched Toby. I had already gotten my homework done, thanks to Jareth, so all I had to do around the house was watch TV. Occasionally, I would take Toby to the park and go sledding or walk him around the mall. I wish I had more friends, everyone was on vacation. My best friend Marcie went to Hawaii well I was stuck in boring old Minnesota.

I can't tell you how much I wished that Jareth would come back. I missed having someone to talk to. The more and more I thought about it, the more depressed I got because who knows if he would ever show up again? I know I'm not that interesting, and I don't pretend to be. I'm just the average teenager and the only difference between me and everyone else is that I got to run through a labyrinth for my little brother and meet a Goblin King...although when you phrase it like that, it almost makes it seem like I've done something with my life.

I had been pacing back and forth for most of the day, thinking while Toby looked at me like I was totally off my rocker. So what? Maybe I am, but at least I'm doing SOMETHING. Ugh, I really need to find more friends.

I started to color with Toby when the phone rang in that ungodly way that made my ears bleed.

"Hold on, Toby. I'll be right back." I walked over to the kitchen and picked up the phone line. "Hello?"

"Sarah? This is Emmett, I lost your cell phone number otherwise I would've called you earlier. Are you busy?"

"Well, I'm kind of watching my baby brother at the moment..."

"Well, would you be able to come to the park for a little bit then? Toby could play on the playground."

Hell, I had nothing better to do. "Okay, which park?"

"How about Teddy Bear Park?"

"Okay, that sounds good. I'll be there in a few, it's gonna take me a bit to get Toby in to all his snow stuff, though."

"That's fine, see in little bit, bye!"

I hung up the phone and went to get Toby. I just hope that he's going to be warm enough. Maybe this will be a good thing. I can finally reconnect with Emmett and have something to do over the long week. I just can't believe that he's available on Christmas Eve! I know that my dad works all the time, and Karen is always doing something else so I'm lucky if I get to see them on Christmas, but Emmett actually has an almost normal family. Oh well, it's better for me I guess.

I buckled Toby tight into the car (which was miraculous because of how large his snow pants and boots were) and we headed off towards Teddy Park.

I hope Toby doesn't get a cold out here. That's just another thing that Karen and dad can blame me for. Everything that happens to Toby while he's under my care, is always my own fault. If they would actually take the time to know they're own kid, they would realize that Toby is just a very masculine and tough little boy who likes to do things without thinking the second I turn around, and then injures himself.

I pulled up to the curb across the street and unpacked Toby out of my car. He was asleep. Great. I'm sure the cold will wake him up but now I have to carry him.

I walked towards the park and saw where Emmett was sitting. It looked like he was talking to himself...well this is what happens when you are desperate for friends.

"Hey there!"

He turned around. "Oh, hey! I wasn't expecting you to get here so fast! I see that Toby has pretty much lost interest in the park."

"Yeah, well, count your blessings. I don't think we would get to catch up for very long before he became bored. So what's up?"

"I don't know. I had to leave my house. My parents are driving me nuts. They keep talking about all these money problems then they laugh it off like it's not a big deal when they're in front of company. Later, in the kitchen, they started to argue and I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to leave."

I frowned. "Well, at least you're doing _something_ for Christmas Eve.I got stuck babysitting, as usual."

"Yeah, that seems like a very pressing job." He said sarcastically, staring pointedly at the sleeping child.

"Hey! I would rather be arguing with adults than with a 4 year old who doesn't want to take a nap. At least arguing with old people makes sense most of the time."

He laughed, "I think we each just have very different demons, Sarah."

"Yeah, I think you're right." I shook my head. "I just can't believe how much you have grown up since I last saw you."

He really was very handsome, if I was being honest with myself. I wouldn't mind being near him so much in the future, if that's what it meant to get more friends.

"Well you don't look so young yourself! You know we're both the same age, right? So when you say things like that, you make it seem like you're my grandmother."

"HA! You wish. At least then maybe you would have less of an attitude with me."

"I don't think that will ever change between us, Sar. And for what it's worth, I missed you alot. When my family moved, you were probably the only thing that I missed about the place."

I couldn't help being touched by his words. I know I usually don't get sappy about stuff like that, but hell, I wasn't heartless for crying out loud.

"Well thanks, but honestly, I think your time was better spent away from me, I'm a mess. I really am."

He shook his head purposely. "And I'm not?"

"I think we both are. But being together right now has been the happiest thing that has happened to me all week. I was just thinking about how I needed some new friends in my life. All of them have abandoned me for their own greater adventures."

"Greater adventures?"

"They're all on vacation," I explained.

"Oh. That's hardly an adventure, trust me. Until you go without your parents, vacation is hardly an adventure."

We watched Toby sleep in my arms. His breath rose up and down, mesmerizing Emmett and I into a peaceful silence. I wanted nothing more than to sit next to Emmett and holdToby forever. I was so relaxed and had forgotten most of my troubles in just the few minutes I had spent at the park. It wasn't just us, it was also the atmosphere. The snow came down harder and harder covering trees and blanketing the ground in it's cotton appearance. It swirled and howled while the neighbors echoed their shovels across the sky. It was so beautiful. I could fall asleep by Toby's warm baby smelling head.

I looked up at Emmett to find him gazing at me.

"What?" I said.

"It's just-you look so mellow and composed. I don't think I've ever seen you like that. Even when we were kids, you were always running around and telling stories. Calmness suits you."

I blushed and I heard a faint whimper escape Toby's lips.

"I told you it wouldn't be long." I smiled as we started to get up and head for my car.

Emmett helped me buckle Toby into the car.

"I know it wasn't a very long time, but I had a lot of fun talking with you again. I really needed to get away from everyone...so I appreciate it."

"No problem. I think I needed that too. It's been a stressful week. Besides, Toby actually fell asleep so I owe you one."

I beamed as I pulled him into a hug, taking him by surprise. As he pulled away he said, "Well, see ya later." And he waved as we slowly backed out into the street and drove away.

I could smell his cologne on my jacket. I was kind of cautious before when I decided to meet him, he sometimes seems like a lunatic, but now I think we could have a really good friendship starting.

As I walked in the door, I could hear Karen chopping something in the kitchen. No doubt making our Christmas Eve dinner.

"Sarah! There you are! Where on earth did you go? I must have called your cellphone at least a dozen times."

"Shh...you'll wake up Toby. I just went to the park to catch up a little more with Emmett and my phone was dead. I was probably gone forty-five minutes, tops."

"Well, just make sure you charge your phone next time. So, Emmett, huh? Are you a guys a thing?"

I rolled my eyes. I hate when she tried to act like my friend instead of her prisoner.

"Not every guy that I talk to has to be my new boyfriend. It is possible to make friends with people that are not the same gender as you."

"But, Sarah, you haven't had a boyfriend in so long! I enjoy seeing you happy with someone else is all. I especially love cooking for your friends and boyfriends." She winked at me.

"Well, when I get married I'll make it up to you and bring my husband by as often as I can so you can make dinner for him. Then we'll be even."

She huffed. "You're such a pretty girl and wasting it." She shook her head and I laughed.

"Okay, Karen. Tell everyone else that."

I walked to Toby's room and set him down in his crib. He's definitely going to need a new bed soon. He's getting way too big for a crib.

I looked at my watch. Jeez, I guess it's time for a Christmas Eve meal with all of the family...awesome...I'm going to need to change.

I ran downstairs and picked out the first Christmas like dress I could find and some black heels. I looked so grown up since the dress was red and decided to put a very grown up side bun with curled bangs surrounding my face. I only had ten more minutes to get ready so I dabbed some mascara and eyeliner on face before rushing right back up the stairs.

"Well, my oh my, Miss Sarah. You look more and more like your mother everyday."

I smiled as best I could at the comment. I didn't like when people told me things like that because even though I knew I would never do half of the things that my mother did, I still didn't want to look like her.

"Thanks, you're not looking' so bad yourself, Uncle Max."

"Psssh! You are such a liar, the kids make me grow ten times older everyday."

I laughed. "Well, they are a handful."

"A handful? Shit! They're 3 baskets and a bag full!"

He always knew how to make me smile even when I was down.

The rest of the night pretty much went the same. I was catching up with everybody in the family. My aunt was a nurse and my uncles worked for this business that they owned together so naturally, I didn't get to see them as often as I liked. All my cousins were really small still. The oldest was only 8. They definitely had a mind of their own. When they wanted something they usually got it. I wish that were the same with me.

Finally, after all the things that I happened today I could finally go to bed. It was already midnight and I had gotten my fair share of family for this week.

I reached the bottom of the stairs and shut the door expecting to unwind when, who do I see?

Oh yes, that would be the royal majesty himself carelessly flipping through a magazine, sitting on the counter.

"Well, don't you look dashing?" he said.

And I thought I was going to bed...

* * *

**A/N: **I tricked you, tee hee! Stay tuned!


	5. A Christmas Rose

**DISCLAIMER: **Don't own the Labyrinth :(

**WARNINGS: **language, spoilers for the book/movie Pride and Prejudice

**A/N: **I just want to especially thank the many people who have been reading this. I really, really appreciate it. You know I treasure reviews ;)

"You have really bad timing..." I uttered through exhausted lips.

"Well, I had to wish you a Merry Christmas. Is that not what humans usually do?"

"Yes, but generally not in that person's bedroom the second that it turns into Christmas."

"I'm technically not in your bedroom, Sarah. I'm in the basement, outside your room." He smirked.

"Well, whatever. It's not normal human behavior."

I hated that he was upsetting me. First he disappears, for how long? And now he's just prancing back in after I have had one of the longest days in my life. I huffed.

"Sarah, why do people only give presents at Christmas?"

That took me by surprise. The last thing I expected from him were questions about human culture.

"Probably because people can't afford to give other people presents everyday but they still want to show others how much they love them, so they give them a present once a year instead."

He twirled crystals in his hand, making them dance. "I think that's very...materialistic. Don't you think?"

"Materialistic? It's once a year! Plus, if you think about it, you get a present but then you give a present right back to that person later during a birthday or something. It's just a cycle to show people that you think about them through the things that you give them. For instance, if I gave you a...jeweled crown...or...something...it would show that I'm thinking about you because, you know, you're a king and all..."

The crystals started spinning faster and faster. "So what you're saying is that people give presents to other people to show that they're thinking about them. Couldn't they just tell a person that they're thinking about them and not have to spend anything?"

"No because when you spend money on someone it shows that person that they are willing to give apart of them to you. Since money is considered valuable in human society, it means a great deal even if you get them a nic-nak."

He grunted. "I would never get you a nic-nak."

"Well, since you are so opinionated on the subject of presents, what would you get me, then?"

He chuckled as he pulled a long box out of his pocket. "I guess you'll have to open it to find out."

I was shocked that he had brought me a present. The way he was talking about presents...I assumed he thought the idea was stupid so he didn't bring me one.

"Ugh-"

"Just open it, Sarah! Don't seem so shocked." He rolled his eyes.

I opened it, carefully. The box was so beautiful I didn't want to damage it. Inside the box lay a glass rose. It had a gold stem and red petals. It was so beautiful...and heavy. I don't think this was cheap...wherever he got it.

"Thank you. I love it. I think I might put it above the fireplace. I can't just let it sit in a box."

He helped me place it where I wanted it and plunked down on the piano seat.

"You're most certainly welcome. So, what have you been doing this week?"

I recounted everything that had happened with babysitting, the party, Christmas Eve dinner, and Emmett. He carefully listened and processed everything that I had said making very calculated facial expressions. When I was done ranting about my week, he turned to me and said, "Sarah, you lead a very dull life."

I couldn't help but laugh. It was so serious. He reminded me of a doctor giving me the final results on a test for cancer.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Come to the Labyrinth with me." He said.

"We've already discussed that."

"Darn."

"Are you my friend?"

He blinked. "Well-yeah I guess, I am...that's a rather odd question."

"You left last time and then I didn't see you for a week so I was wondering if I was just you're amusement until you found some real friends or...something."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, Sarah, when you find someone in my world who wants to be friend, call me. I'm curious to know why you need a friend when you obviously have this-Emmett boy of yours to talk to."

I scoffed. "I don't want just one friend. I would like to get different perspectives, not one that I can predict every time I need to talk to someone. Then, I wouldn't really need to talk to them because I will know what they are going to say."

"You make a good point. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I was just wondering-nevermind, it's nothing."

He rolled his eyes practically out of his sockets. "It is never nothing with you, Sarah. Just ask."

"Well, I was wondering about your parents..."

He grew cold and his eyes looked like they had been etched onto his face.

"I-I'm sorry...I didn't want to ask-" He put his hand up to stop me from speaking and he sighed a great, long sigh.

"Sarah, there is not much that I don't talk about, but the past is one of them. I have had horrible things happen to me and in some cases I have done terribole things to other people. I don't want to scare you off, yet so how about we just have some Christmas wine and forget about it?"

I really wanted to know what he was hiding from me but I instead I replied, "Okay, let's open it up!"

I hadn't had alcohol in so long, Karen only let me have some once in awhile so I readily agreed. I liked to think of myself as an adult, so whenever any type of alcohol was brought up, I made sure to guzzle it down. As Jareth filled up the last glass, I decided to ask him about something that was on my mind.

"Jareth?"

"Hmmm?" He murmured.

"Why is it so hard for you to find friends in your own world?"

"That's a very long story but, probably for the same reason you can't make friends in your world...we're just very different from the rest." He smiled.

I guess that answer will have to do for now. I didn't want to spoil the evening with him getting angry at me.

"Cheers to new friends! Forgiven friends..." He added.

I gulped mine down in one tip of the glass. Jareth fully raised both his eyebrows.

"I don't think it was _that _bad of a night."

"It wasn't, I just...need to relax, that's all."

"I see, I should go."

"NO!"

He looked back, startled. "I mean, ugh, please? Please stay?"

"I see your manners leave a lot to be desired...fine I will stay and we can watch a movie together." He made it seem like this would be a hard task for him, but I could see that underneath the façade, he was pleased that he could stay.

I put in the movie Pride and Prejudice. I was going to get a better action movie but all of them were upstairs and I couldn't go up there without waking someone up. At times like this I wished I wasn't such a sucker for romance movies. Now he was probably going to make fun of me...

We watched and surprisingly, he had nothing to say during the whole movie. I watched him carefully weighing his reactions to see what he had been taking from it. I suddenly found myself wanting to know everything he thought about the movie or hear him say anything, really. I was such a bad person to watch movies with because I could talk during the whole thing. Karen and my dad effectively ended movie night shortly after they started for that specific reason.

We had gotten to my favorite part where Elizabeth comes to Derby-shire and meets Darcy while her aunt and uncle say how wonderful he is. This was my favorite _and_ least favorite part because Elizabeth and Darcy were reunited but they still weren't talking to each other. I also liked how he stood up and became her knight and shining armor after being an asshole about an hour ago. I think both of these things were alluring about him in the book and the movie. Somehow, he was irresistible. He was Mr. Darcy, the guy that every teenage girl fantasized about.

Finally, it had ended and I couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine! Tell me how stupid the movie was, it's okay. I know it is, I just really like that movie and I don't know why."

I could see he was confused by my outburst. "I don't think it was a bad movie. Actually, I was rather intrigued by it...I'm a little puzzled by some parts but other then that, I thought it was rather delightful."

"Oh...well what are your questions?"

"First, why did Elizabeth hate Darcy so much? I know that she had heard stories about him, but to me, he just looked really shy. Poor man." He shook his head.

I had to laugh at the pitying look he had on his face for a character of all people! "I think that Elizabeth just wasn't interested at all with him and so it wasn't necessary to try and get to the bottom of things."

"Hmmm, well I still feel bad for him. Which leads me to my next question, why do men always have to figure out the crazy girl in every love movie? Why can't the girl just be normal for once?"

"Because then it wouldn't be a good story." I smiled. I was enjoying his over thinking about such a silly movie.

He shrugged. "I just feel like the movie should start with the ending, I like stories better when they start out with the happy couple."

I shook my head at the discussion we were having. How did I end up having a discussion with the Goblin King about Pride and Prejudice? My life always had something spectacular around the corner. I was truly glad that he had come, despite everything. I couldn't help but wonder more about his past. Why wouldn't he tell me anything about it? How could something be so terrible that he couldn't talk about it with me? I felt a little betrayed and hurt that he felt he couldn't confide in me.

I think maybe if I want him to open up to me, I have to open up to him...but that's a can of worms I appreciated being taped shut...and then it hit me...now I understood why he didn't want to tell me. If I was in his same situation, I wouldn't really want to tell him, either. But I had to know. I would work on revealing more of my life next time we met if it meant that I could see more of what bothered him so much.

"Sarah, would it be okay if I visited with you on Wednesday?"

"Yeah, that's when school starts back up so you can help me with more of my homework." I flashed my big white teeth at him.

He shuddered. "I have always hated homework. You are lucky that we have already established we are friends otherwise I wouldn't bother."

"Haha! Well, I guess that's the price of friendship. Does this mean you're leaving me?" I asked, my tone growing sadder.

"I have to get back to my castle eventually, what will the goblins think if I'm disappearing everyday?"

"That you need some alone time because they are all annoying?"

"You are so smart. Maybe I will tell them that next time."

He walked to my door and *poof* turned into an owl and flew away from the house...from me. Why was it so hard for him to say goodbye once in awhile?


End file.
